David Thomas: “Mr. Chairman, I do not have the time to correct all of the dollar errors on the gentleman's chart, and I would also tell…”

“Mr. Chairman, I do not have the time to correct all of the dollar errors on the gentleman's chart, and I would also tell him that all of the volume in the world does not make his statement so. We have more disclosure, not less. We have tighter rules on independent expenditures, not less. This whole debate is about the role and use of government. Democrats, true to form, want to use government to control. They want to limit. They want to have a one-size-fits-all Washington-imposed dollar amount. The problem is, they have no limits at all, unless people voluntarily give up their constitutional rights as defined by the court. We say, let us use government to empower individuals. Let us let the people back home who are subjected to all of this determine how much should be spent in a campaign. That is truly a frightening concept to the people across the aisle. They would have to go back home and justify what they are doing to the people in the district without their Washington power base, without their New York fundraisers, without their Hollywood extravaganzas. Let us empower the people back home. That is what we do. That is what is really revolutionary about the approach that we are taking. I would ask for an ``aye'' vote on the basic bill.”